R&B trio After 7 returns to the scene with a new album titled Unfinished Business via the SoNo recording group. New member Danny McClain joins founding members Kevon Edmonds and Keith Mitchell for the group’s fifth project. McClain replaces Melvin Edmonds (who passed away in May of 2019) and Melvin’s son Jason, who joined the group when his dad fell ill. In hindsight, you could say the CD is a tribute to Melvin, and the Unfinished Business is getting one more project out.
After 7 released “Bittersweet” as the first single this past spring which found the trio adapting their signature sound for 2021.”No Place Like You,” a lovely ballad, was the next single, which features Kevon’s lush vocals on the opening. After 7 opens up their latest project with “Extra Mile,” a song about putting forth that extra effort to get the attention of someone you may be interested in.
Stokley Williams of Mint Condition joins the group for “The Day,” a mid-tempo bop that I imagine will sound great in concert. “Made A Man Of Me” and “Sing A Love Song” are two more standouts. As a husband, both of the songs hit home for me with the message in the lyrics.
The bulk of the production of the CD comes from Damon Thomas and his team, with Stokley Williams contributing two numbers as well. I also loved that the group found time to include interludes from Melvin, where he can provide the wisdom of a seasoned veteran.
After 7 avoids using trap beats or autotune to appeal to a younger crowd. Instead, they focus on providing listeners with quality R&B. Unfinished Business is necessary for your music collection.
Final Grade: A-
Unfinished Business is available on all streaming platforms. In addition, physical copies of the release can be purchased on-line
I’ve always been a fan of Eric Bellinger. My admiration stems not only from the records he has released under his own name but also from the impressive career he built behind the scenes. Long before casual R&B listeners recognized his face, they were already familiar with his songwriting through tracks he penned for artists like Chris Brown, Usher, Justin Bieber, and Wale.
As many of you know, I had the opportunity to visit Paisley Park earlier this week while vacationing in Minnesota. During the tour, our guide shared that an expanded edition of Prince’s album “Parade” is expected to be released to celebrate its 40th anniversary. After spending the day exploring the Twin Cities, it felt like the perfect excuse to revisit one of the most fascinating and underrated albums in Prince’s legendary catalog.
One of the reasons I’ve always considered Prince to have the edge over Michael Jackson is his remarkable collection of ballads and